Germany to settle outstanding WWI debt

[September 30, 2010]  BERLIN (AP) -- Germany marks 20 years since reunification with pomp and ceremonies on Sunday -- and a final payment for outstanding interest due on loans dating back to the years after World War I.

Germany's Office for Central Services and Unresolved Property Issues said Thursday the last installment will be paid on Oct. 3, as the country makes good on a 1953 international agreement.

Germany issued several series of bonds in the 1920s and '30s to help pay for the WWI reparations and bolster its economy. Payments on the bonds were suspended under the Nazis.

Following World War II, Germany and the Allies established an agreement on repayment, but reimbursement on outstanding interest from 1945-1953 -- roughly euro150 million ($200 million) -- was delayed until Germany reunified.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.